The first game of the 2022/23 Championship season against Bedford wasn't given the go-ahead by the RFU until a few hours before kick-off as other sports were cancelled to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, writes Richard Barnes.
For the rugby family that gathered to watch Coventry's four-try victory over Bedford, the opportunity to stand with their peers, sing the national anthem and take part in a minute of silence was deemed right and proper.
Cov had posed questions in pre-season as to how well they could compete with a new team of young, inexperienced players. The line-up for the Bedford game featured 11 players making their full competitive debut for Coventry.
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From the whistle, Cov looked nervous, dropping the ball from the kick-off and giving possession straight back to Bedford. The ball was thrown down the line to Bedford's Dean Adamson, scoring, on an overlap to the corner with less than a minute on the clock.
Bedford looked to capitalise on the score pressuring Cov in their own half in the opening exchanges. The pressure for Bedford paid off with a conceded penalty giving Cov old-boy, Will Maisey, a 35-metre kick to put Bedford eight points up after 22 minutes.
From the restart, Cov then got a handle on the powerful Bedford frontline and grew into the game.
Leading by example, captain Jordan Poole showed the way to the line with his first score of the night. A driving maul from the now-organised Cov pack pushed the desperately defending Bedford back, again and again.
The relentless pressure resulted in two yellow cards issued to Bedford players Alex Woolford and Jacob Fields.
The numerical advantage was telling and the referee, Harry Walboum, frustrated by Bedford's continued ill-disciplined, awarded Cov a penalty try on the stroke of half-time, the score Cov 14-8 Bedford.
The numerical advantage continued at the start of the half with Poole scoring his second try on 42 minutes. It was a strong kick chase at the restart that gave the opportunity for him to score in the same manner as his first try.
Substitutes were introduced by both teams from the hour onwards. It was Su'va Ma'asi introduction that had immediate effect, again, Cov driving over with strong and determined front-pack play.
Patrick Pelligrini converted putting the game effectively out of Bedford's reach despite a concerted effort from Bedford scoring two tries from Woolford and Jack Hughes with a few minutes left on the clock.
Although Cov looked rattled as they sought to see out the game, solid and a relentless tackling kept Bedford at bay and giving Cov a bonus point 26-18 win.
The Championship pre-season question, at least for this first game, was answered. Cov's young team did compete and showed resilience at the opening and ending of the game.
Head coach Alex Rae said "We had a plan and we stuck to it. Jordan Poole leads by actions, and he certainly did that today and will grow off that as a captain.
"We controlled for 65 minutes and let them back into the game. We will learn from that. Jersey away next week, they will be a massive test, and we are looking forward to it."
COVENTRY: 15. Louis Brown, 14. Will Talbot-Davies, 13. Will Wand, 12. Lucas Titherington, 11. James Martin, 10. Patrick Pellegrini, 9. Will Lane, 1. Toby Trinder, 2. Jordan Poole (c), 3. Harry Seward, 4. James Tyas, 5. George Smith, 6. Senitiki Nayalo, 7. Josh Bainbridge, 8. Fred Betteridge
Replacements: 16. Will Biggs, 17. Danny Southworth, 18. Ollie Andrew, 19. Su’va Ma’asi, 20. Tom Ball, 21. Fin Ogden, 22. Evan Mitchell, 23. Shea Cornish
BEDFORD BLUES: 15. Matt Worley, 14. Sean French, 13. James Little, 12. Michael Le Bourgeois, 11. Dean Adamson, 10. Will Maisey, 9. Alex Day (c), 1. Joey Conway, 2. Jacob Fields, 3. Corrie Barrett, 4. Jordan Onojaife, 5. Alex Woolford, 6. Ollie Newman, 7. Charles Rylands, 8. Jac Arthur
Replacements: 16. Jack Hughes 17. Monty Royston, 18. George Kloska, 19. Robin Williams, 20. Aaron Tull, 21. Jake Garside, 22. Louis Grimoldby, 23. Pat Tapley
Attendance 2,114
Referee Harry Walboum
